A method for processing a call placed to a telephony identifier. The method comprises: obtaining information regarding an origin of the call; identifying a group of identities that is associated with the telephony identifier, each identity designating a party reachable by calling the telephony identifier; determining, based on the information regarding the origin of the call, that the call is intended for a particular identity among the group of identities; and causing routing of the call based on information associated with the particular identity. The party designated by each identity may be a different person. Also provided a system for processing a call placed to a telephony identifier.
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1. A method for processing a call placed to a telephony identifier, said method comprising:
obtaining an identifier of a calling party having originated the call;
identifying a group of destination identities associated with the telephony identifier, each destination identity designating a party reachable by calling the telephony identifier;
searching contact information respectively associated with the destination identities in the group of destination identities to identify a particular destination identity for which the respective contact information includes the identifier of the calling party having originated the call; and
causing routing of the call based on information associated with the particular destination identity.
24. An apparatus for processing a call placed to a telephony identifier, said apparatus comprising:
a processing entity for:
obtaining an identifier of a calling party having originated the call;
identifying a group of destination identities associated with the telephony identifier, each destination identity designating a party reachable by calling the telephony identifier; and
searching contact information respectively associated with the destination identities in the group of destination identities to identify a particular destination identity for which the respective contact information includes the identifier of the calling party having originated the call; and
a routing entity for causing routing of the call based on information associated with the particular destination identity.
47. A system for processing a call placed to a telephony identifier, said system comprising:
means for obtaining an identifier of a calling party having originated the call;
means for identifying a group of destination identities associated with the telephony identifier, each destination identity designating a party reachable by calling the telephony identifier;
means for searching contact information respectively associated with the destination identities in the group of destination identities to identify a particular destination identity for which the respective contact information includes the identifier of the calling party having originated the call;
means for determining, based on the information regarding the origin of the call, that the call is intended for a particular identity among the group of identities; and
means for causing routing of the call based on information associated with the particular destination identity.
48. computer-readable media storing a program component for execution by a computer system to process a call placed to a telephony identifier, said program component comprising:
first program code for causing the computer system to obtain an identifier of a calling party having originated the call;
second program code for causing the computer system to identify a group of destination identities associated with the telephony identifier, each destination identity designating a party reachable by calling the telephony identifier;
third program code for causing the computer system to search contact information respectively associated with the destination identities in the group of destination identities to identify a particular destination identity for which the respective contact information includes the identifier of the calling party having originated the call; and
fourth program code for causing the computer system to cause routing of the call based on information associated with the particular destination identity.
3. A method as claimed in
5. A method as claimed in
6. A method as claimed in
consulting a call history of previous calls; and
concluding from the call history and the identifier of the calling party having originated the current call that the current call is intended for the particular identity.
7. A method as claimed in
8. A method as claimed in
9. A method as claimed in
performing a search on at least one site of a data network on a basis of the identifier of the calling party having originated the call; and
identifying, based on results of the search, a relationship between the particular identity and the calling party having originated the call.
10. A method as claimed in
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16. A method as claimed in
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19. A method as claimed in
20. A method as claimed in
determining, based on the identifier of the calling party having originated the call, that the call is also intended for a second particular identity among the group of identities;
wherein routing of the call is further based on information associated with the second particular identity.
21. A method as claimed in
22. A method as claimed in
23. A method as claimed in
26. An apparatus as claimed in
27. An apparatus as claimed in
28. An apparatus as claimed in
29. An apparatus as claimed in
consulting a call history of previous calls; and
concluding from the call history and the identifier of the calling party having originated the current call that the current call is intended for the particular identity.
30. An apparatus as claimed in
31. An apparatus as claimed in
32. An apparatus as claimed in
performing a search on at least one site of a data network on a basis of the identifier of the calling party having originated the call; and
identifying, based on results of the search, a relationship between the particular identity and the calling party having originated the call.
33. An apparatus as claimed in
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36. An apparatus as claimed in
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40. An apparatus as claimed in
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46. An apparatus as claimed in
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The present invention relates generally to telecommunications and, more particularly, to a method and a system for routing calls placed to a telephone number or other telephony identifier that is associated with a group of identities.
Different people in a household or other social unit typically have vastly different social networks. As a result, incoming calls, which can have various origins and can be intended for anyone in the household or other social unit, can often give rise to nuisances or inefficiencies. For example, in a household with parents and children, the parents may frequently answer calls that are intended for their children. In some cases, this may prove quite frustrating for the parents who may unnecessarily be distracted and/or waste time.
Similar nuisances or inefficiencies can also arise in connection with incoming calls pertaining to different aspects of a person's life. For example, a person may receive incoming calls pertaining to his/her personal life as well as incoming calls pertaining to his/her work or business. In some cases, with no distinction being made between these two types of calls, the person may experience undesirable situations, such as receiving personal calls during business meetings or answering business calls in an inadequate manner when thinking they are personal calls.
For these and various other situations, there exists a need for solutions directed to handling incoming calls depending on who or what they are intended for.
As embodied and broadly described herein, the present invention provides a method for processing a call placed to a telephony identifier. The method comprises: obtaining information regarding an origin of the call; identifying a group of persons that is associated with the telephony identifier; determining, based on the information regarding the origin of the call, that the call is intended for a particular person among the group of persons; and causing routing of the call based on information associated with the particular person.
The present invention also provides an apparatus for processing a call placed to a telephony identifier. The apparatus comprises a processing entity for: obtaining information regarding an origin of the call; identifying a group of persons that is associated with the telephony identifier; and determining, based on the information regarding the origin of the call, that the call is intended for a particular person among the group of persons. The apparatus also comprises a routing entity for causing routing of the call based on information associated with the particular person.
The present invention also provides a system for processing a call placed to a telephony identifier. The system comprises: means for obtaining information regarding an origin of the call; means for identifying a group of persons that is associated with the telephony identifier; means for determining, based on the information regarding the origin of the call, that the call is intended for a particular person among the group of persons; and means for causing routing of the call based on information associated with the particular person.
The present invention also provides a computer-readable media storing a program component for execution by a computer system to process a call placed to a telephony identifier. The program component comprises: first program code for causing the computer system to obtain information regarding an origin of the call; second program code for causing the computer system to identify a group of persons that is associated with the telephony identifier; third program code for causing the computer system to determine, based on the information regarding the origin of the call, that the call is intended for a particular person among the group of persons; and fourth program code for causing the computer system to cause routing of the call based on information associated with the particular person.
The present invention also provides a method for processing a call placed to a telephony identifier. The method comprises: obtaining information regarding an origin of the call; identifying a group of identities that is associated with the telephony identifier, each identity designating a party reachable by calling the telephony identifier; determining, based on the information regarding the origin of the call, that the call is intended for a particular identity among the group of identities; and causing routing of the call based on information associated with the particular identity.
The present invention also provides an apparatus for processing a call placed to a telephony identifier. The apparatus comprises a processing entity for: obtaining information regarding an origin of the call; identifying a group of identities that is associated with the telephony identifier, each identity designating a party reachable by calling the telephony identifier; and determining, based on the information regarding the origin of the call, that the call is intended for a particular identity among the group of identities. The apparatus also comprises a routing entity for causing routing of the call based on information associated with the particular identity.
The present invention also provides a system for processing a call placed to a telephony identifier. The system comprises: means for obtaining information regarding an origin of the call; means for identifying a group of identities that is associated with the telephony identifier, each identity designating a party reachable by calling the telephony identifier; means for determining, based on the information regarding the origin of the call, that the call is intended for a particular identity among the group of identities; and means for causing routing of the call based on information associated with the particular identity.
The present invention also provides computer-readable media storing a program component for execution by a computer system to process a call placed to a telephony identifier. The program component comprises: first program code for causing the computer system to obtain information regarding an origin of the call; second program code for causing the computer system to identify a group of identities that is associated with the telephony identifier, each identity designating a party reachable by calling the telephony identifier; third program code for causing the computer system to determine, based on the information regarding the origin of the call, that the call is intended for a particular identity among the group of identities; and fourth program code for causing the computer system to cause routing of the call based on information associated with the particular identity.
These and other aspects of the invention will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon review of the following description of example embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
A detailed description of certain embodiments of the present invention is provided herein below, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
It is to be expressly understood that the description and drawings are only for the purpose of illustration of example embodiments of the invention and are an aid for understanding. They are not intended to be a definition of the limits of the invention.
Various types of communication devices may be used by users to effect telephonic communications. For example, in various embodiments, a communication device used by a user (such as any one of the communication devices 141 . . . 148) may be a wired Plain Old Telephony System (POTS) phone (including a cordless phone), a wireless phone (e.g., a cellular phone or other mobile communication device, including a telephony-enabled personal digital assistant (PDA)), a Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone, a POTS phone equipped with an analog terminal adapter (ATA), a softphone (i.e., a computer equipped with telephony software), or a telephony-enabled television unit (e.g. a set-top box connected to a television and a remote control). Depending on functionality of a given communication device (such as any one of the communication devices 141 . . . 148), a call originated or received by the given communication device may be a voice call, a video call, a multimedia call, or any other type of call. Also, depending on its functionality, a given communication device (such as any one of the communication devices 141 . . . 148) may allow other communications to be effected (e.g., send and receive text, multimedia, email and/or instant messaging (IM) messages).
In this embodiment, the users 121 . . . 124 are members of a family. More particularly, in this example, the users 121 and 122 are parents, respectively father and mother, and the users 123 and 124 are their children, in this case, son and daughter, respectively. Also, in this embodiment: the communication device 141 is a POTS phone located at a workplace 16 of the user 121; the communication device 142 is a wireless phone carried by the user 121; the communication devices 143 . . . 146 are located at a residence 18 (e.g., a house) of the users 121 . . . 124, with the communication device 143 being a VoIP phone located in a common area (e.g., a kitchen or living room) of the residence 18, the communication device 144 being an ATA-equipped POTS phone located in a bedroom of the users 121 and 122, the communication device 145 being a VoIP phone located in a bedroom of the user 123, and the communication device 146 being a softphone located in a bedroom of the user 124; the communication device 147 is a wireless phone carried by the user 123; and the communication device 148 is a wireless phone carried by the user 124.
It will be appreciated that, while in this embodiment the communication devices 141 . . . 148 are certain types of devices that are associated in a particular manner with the users 121 . . . 124, in other embodiments, the communication devices 141 . . . 148 may be other types of devices and may be associated in other manners with the users 121 . . . 124. It will also be appreciated that this embodiment where the users 121-124 are family members is presented for illustrative purposes only and that, in other embodiments, various users of communication devices may have various different affiliations or no particular affiliation.
The communication devices 141 . . . 148 are connected to a call processing system 20 via various network portions of the communications network 10. The call processing system 20 is operative to effect various call processing operations when a communication device (such as any one of the communication devices 141 . . . 148) is destined to receive an incoming call or is used to originate an outgoing call or participate in a call in progress. The call processing system 20 comprises suitable hardware, firmware, software or a combination thereof for implementing a plurality of functional elements, including a processing element 24 and a plurality of routing elements 221 . . . 223, whose functions are discussed below.
More particularly, in this embodiment;
Similarly, the communication devices 147 and 148 (in this case, wireless phones) are connected to the routing element 222 of the call processing system 20 via network portions 267 and 268 of the communications network 10. Each of the network portions 267 and 268 may comprise a wireless link in combination with a base station and a wireline link, and possibly one or more other network components (e.g., routing elements, gateways, etc.). The routing element 222 is operative to perform operations to cause establishment of a call destined for or originated by any of the communication devices 147 and 148. It will be appreciated that, in other embodiments, the communication devices 147 and 148 may be connected to one or more other routing elements of the call processing system 20 (e.g., where the wireless phones 142, 147 and 148 are serviced by different service providers which may operate different routing elements).
The routing element 223 is operative to perform operations to cause establishment of a call destined for or originated by any of the communication device 143 . . . 146. For example, the routing element 223 may be implemented by a softswitch, a router (e.g., an edge router or a core router), or a server equipped with a modem. It will be appreciated that, in other embodiments, some of the communication devices 143 . . . 146 may be connected to one or more other routing elements of the call processing system 20 (e.g., where two or more of the communication devices 143 . . . 146 are serviced by different service providers which may operate different routing elements).
It will be appreciated that each of the network portion 261 . . . 268 may span across different networks (e.g., PSTN, wireless, and/or data networks) in which case it may comprise one or more gateways enabling communication and interoperability between these networks. Such gateways are well known and need not be described in further detail.
It will also be appreciated that, while in this embodiment the communication devices 141 . . . 148 are connected to the call processing system 20 in a certain manner, communication devices such as the communication devices 141 . . . 148 may be connected to the call processing system 20 in various other manners in other embodiments.
With continued reference to
In some embodiments, two or more of the processing element 24 and the routing elements 221 . . . 223 of the call processing system 20 may be functional elements implemented by a common network component. In particular, the processing element 24 and one or more of the routing elements 221 . . . 223 may be implemented by a common network component. For example, in some embodiments, the processing element 24 and the routing element 223 may be functional elements of a softswitch or other server.
Also, in some embodiments, two or more of the processing element 24 and the routing elements 221 . . . 223 of the call processing system 20 may be functional elements implemented by different network components that are linked by one or more physical (i.e., wired or wireless) communication links and possibly other network components (e.g., gateways) of the communications network 10. For example, in some embodiments, the processing element 24 and the routing element 223 may be functional elements of a softswitch or other server, while the routing element 221 is a functional element of a central office telephone switch and the routing element 222 is a functional element of a mobile switching center, whereby the central office telephone switch and the mobile switching center are linked to the softswitch or other server via communication links and possibly other network components of the communications network 10.
The processing element 24 comprises suitable hardware, firmware, software or a combination thereof for implementing a plurality of functional entities, including a processing entity 30 and a routing entity 32, which are configured to perform various operations when a communication device (such as any one of the communication devices 141 . . . 148) is destined to receive an incoming call or is used to originate an outgoing call or participate in a call in progress.
More particularly, the processing entity 30 implements a call processing logic to process a call destined for, originated by, or in progress at a communication device (such as any one of the communication devices 141 . . . 148). For example, the call processing logic may be defined by a sequence of decisions to be taken with respect to a given call, which may lead to one or more actions being performed based on those decisions.
Each decision taken with respect to a given call may be based on one or more factors. A factor on which is based a decision to be taken with respect to a given call may be defined in terms of information regarding the given call. For example, information regarding a given call may include information regarding an origin of the given call such as: the given call's origin which may be expressed, for instance, as a telephone number or other identifier (e.g., an Internet Protocol (IP) address or another Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) such as a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) URI) identifying a device that originated the given call or as a name or other identifier of a calling party that originated the call: a time at which the given call was originated (e.g., a day, hour, minute, etc.); and/or a location (e.g., a city or street address) where the given call was originated. As another example, information regarding a given call may include information regarding a destination of the given call as specified by a calling party that originated the call, such as the given call's intended destination, which may be expressed, for instance, as a telephone number or other identifier (e.g., an IP address or SIP URI) identifying a device for which the call is destined or as a name or other identifier of a called party for which the call is destined. A factor on which is based a decision to be taken with respect to a given call may also be defined in terms of certain information included in a database 36 that may be accessed by the processing entity 30.
One or more actions are performed based on one or more decisions taken with respect to a given call, such as route the given call to a certain destination, cause a distinctive ringing to be effected to announce the given call, block the given call, etc. The routing entity 32 is operative to cause these one or more actions to be performed. For example, for a given call destined for, originated by, or in progress at one of the communication devices 141 . . . 148, the routing entity 32 may cause a given one of the routing elements 221 . . . 223 to perform these one or more actions.
In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a telephone number or other telephony identifier enabling establishment of calls may be associated with a group of “identities”, where each “identity” designates a party reachable by placing a call to this telephone number or other telephony identifier. The party designated by an identity may be a person or a group of persons. Also, in some cases, a person may have a plurality of identities (e.g., a personal identity for his/her personal life and a business identity for business purposes).
As further discussed below, this association of a telephone number or other telephony identifier with a group of identities is particularly useful from various perspectives. For example, this may allow multiple persons and/or multiple communication devices to share a common telephone number or other telephony identifier, and have an incoming call placed to that telephone number or other telephony identifier routed according to which identity it is determined to be intended for. In addition, a single consolidated bill may be issued by the service provider operating the call processing system 20 for charges incurred by these multiple persons and/or multiple communication devices, thereby simplifying a billing process for both the service provider and a subscriber receiving this single consolidated bill.
An association of a telephone number or other telephony identifier with a group of identities may be maintained in the database 36.
For purposes of illustration, it is assumed that, in this example, a record 200j of the records 2001-200M is associated with the family formed by the users 121 . . . 124.
In this embodiment, the record 200j includes subscriber identification information 17 identifying the subscriber associated with the record 200j. For instance, the subscriber identification information 17 may include an account number and/or another subscriber identifier.
The record 200j also includes a telephony identifier 19 enabling establishment of calls. In this embodiment, the telephony identifier 19 is a telephone number, which, for purposes of this example, is assumed to be (555) 555-1234. In other embodiments, the telephony identifier 19 may be any other information that can be provided by a calling party and/or used by the communications network 10 when a call is to be established (e.g., a name, an electronic serial number (ESN), an IP address, a SIP URI, Electronic Numbering (ENUM) information, etc.).
In this example, the telephone number 19 is associated with a group of identities 211 . . . 215. In this case, each of the identities 211 . . . 215 designates a person, namely, one of the users 121 . . . 124. More particularly, in this example: each of the identities 211 and 212 designates the user 121 (i.e., the father), where the identity 211 is a personal identity of the user 121 used for his personal life and the identity 212 is a business identity of the user 121 used for business purposes; the identity 213 designates the user 122 (i.e., the mother); the identity 214 designates the user 123 (i.e., the son); and the identity 215 designates the user 124 (i.e., the daughter).
As further discussed later on, when it operates to establish a call placed to the telephone number 19 (in this case, (555) 555-1234) by a calling party, the call processing system 20 determines, based on information regarding an origin of the call (e.g., a telephone number or other identifier of the calling party, a time at which the call was originated, a location where the call was originated, etc.), to which of the identities 211 . . . 215 the call is intended for and proceeds to route the call accordingly, for instance, by directing the call to one or more of the communication devices 141 . . . 148.
Each of the identities 211 . . . 215 is associated with various information that effectively serves to define that identity within the call processing system 20.
More particularly, in this embodiment, each of the identities 211 . . . 215 is identified by identity identification information 31, which may include, for instance, a name (e.g., a name of a given one of the users 121 . . . 124 designated by that identity), an identity number or code, and/or other information identifying that identity.
Also, each of the identities 211 . . . 215 is associated with information 25 related to processing of calls involving that identity, i.e., calls intended for or originated by the person designated by that identity. The information 25 associated with each of the identities 21 . . . 215, which is hereinafter referred to as “call processing information”, is used by the call processing system 20 to process a call intended for or originated by that identity.
In this embodiment, the call processing information 25 associated with each of the identities 211 . . . 215 comprises device identification information 33 directly or indirectly identifying one or more of the communication devices 141 . . . 148 associated with that identity. More particularly, the person designated by each of the identities 211 . . . 215 may be associated with one or more of the communication devices 141 . . . 148 that he/she is expected to use for effecting calls. Thus, in this example: the identity 211 (which designates the user 121, and more specifically, his personal identity) is associated with the communication devices 141 . . . 144; the identity 212 (which designates the user 121, and more specifically, his business identity) is associated with the communication devices 141 and 142; the identity 213 (which designates the user 122) is associated with the communication devices 143 and 144; the identity 214 (which designates the user 123) is associated with the communication devices 143, 145 and 147; and the identity 215 (which designates the user 124) is associated with the communication devices 143, 146 and 148.
In order to reach or be reached by the call processing system 20 over the communications network 10, each of the communication devices 141 . . . 148 is directly or indirectly identified by a device identifier included in the device identification information 33. The device identifier identifying each of the communication devices 141 . . . 148 may take on various forms depending on that communication device's type. For example: for the communication device 141, which, in this case, is a wired POTS phone, the device identifier may include a telephone number identifying a telephone line to which the wired POTS phone 141 is connected; for the communication device 142, which, in this case, is a wireless phone, the device identifier may include an electronic serial number (ESN) and/or a telephone number associated with the wireless phone 142; for each of the communication devices 143 . . . 146, each of which is, in this case, a VoIP phone, ATA-equipped POTS phone, or softphone, the device identifier may include an IP address and/or a telephone number (and/or another URI such as a SIP URI) associated with the VoIP phone, ATA-equipped POTS phone, or softphone. It will be recognized that the device identifier identifying a given communication device may take on other forms (e.g., Electronic Numbering (ENUM) information) in other cases.
In this example, callers who desire to reach the users 121 . . . 124 can do so by placing calls to the telephone number 19 (in this case, (555) 555-1234) without knowing the device identifier associated with any of the communication devices 141 . . . 148. In that sense, the device identifier associated with each of the communication devices 141 . . . 148 can be viewed as a “hidden” identifier (e.g., a hidden telephone number) that is used by the call processing system 20 to communicate with that communication device. That is, the device identifier associated with each of the communication devices 141 . . . 148 need not be known by callers that call the users 121 . . . 124 or even by the users 121 . . . 124 themselves. Rather, the users 121 . . . 124 may provide only the telephone number 19, in this case, (555) 555-1234, to individuals (e.g., friends, colleagues, business contacts or other acquaintances) who may then proceed to call any one of the users 121 . . . 124 using that telephone number. As further discussed later on, the call processing system 20 can determine, based on information regarding an origin of a given call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234, to which of the identities 211 . . . 215 the call is intended for and can then proceed to route the call accordingly, for instance, by directing the call to one or more of the communication devices 141 . . . 148 using the (hidden) device identifier associated with each of these communication devices.
In this embodiment, the call processing information 25 associated with each of the identities 211 . . . 215 also comprises information 23 regarding one or more operations to be performed by the call processing system 20 to process calls intended for or originated by that identity. This information 23, which is hereinafter referred to as “processing operation information”, can take on many forms in various embodiments. For example, in some embodiments, the processing operation information 23 associated with each of the identities 211 . . . 215 can be viewed as defining a set of one or more rules that may be characterized by various levels of complexity. For instance, in some cases, the processing operation information 23 associated with a given one of the identities 211 . . . 215 may simply specify to route a call determined to be intended for that identity to one or more communication devices (e.g., any one of the communication devices 141 . . . 148), while, in other cases, it may specify a more complex set of rules to be applied when a call is determined to be intended for or originated by that identity (e.g., based on an origin of the call, a time at which it is originated, etc.).
The processing operation information 23 associated with each of the identities 211 . . . 215 may be configurable in order to allow processing of calls intended for or originated by the person designated by that identity as desired by that person. In some embodiments, the processing operation information 23 associated with each of the identities 211 . . . 215 may be configured by the person designated by that identity during a provisioning phase (e.g., via a data network site operated by the service provider operating the call processing system 20).
For instance, in some embodiments, the processing operation information 23 associated with each of the identities 211 . . . 215 may relate to zero or more telephony features that may be subscribed to by the person designated by that identity. Subscription to different telephony features may be completely independent from one person to another and there is no restriction on a number or combination of features that may be subscribed to by any one person. In some cases, a person may not subscribe to any telephony feature, while in other cases a person may subscribe to all available telephony features. Also, in some cases, one or more telephony features may be subscribed to without having to pay for these one or more features, which may be provided as default or standard features.
Examples of telephony features that may be subscribed to by the person designated by an identity 21j of the identities 211 . . . 215 include:
It is to be understood that these examples of telephony features are presented for illustrative purposes only and are not to be considered limiting in any respect as various other telephony features are or may become available. Also, the above examples of information that may be part of the processing operation information 23 associated with the identity 21j, in relation to one or more telephony features are presented for illustrative purposes only and are not to be considered limiting in any respect.
It is also to be understood that, in some embodiments, the processing operation information 23 associated with any one of the identities 211 . . . 215 may not relate to any particular telephony feature. Generally, the processing operation information 23 associated with each of the identities 211 . . . 215 is indicative of one or more operations to be performed by the call processing system 20 to process calls intended for or originated by that identity.
In this embodiment, each of the identities 211 . . . 215 may also be associated with contact information 37 regarding one or more contacts (e.g., friends, colleagues, business contacts or other acquaintances) of the person designated by that identity. For example, for each of these one or more contacts, the contact information 37 may include a telephony identifier associated with that party, such as a telephone number, a name, an electronic serial number (ESN), an IP address, a SIP URI, Electronic Numbering (ENUM) information, etc. Thus, in this case, the contact information 37 associated with each of the identities 211 . . . 215 can be viewed as part of an address book of the person designated by that identity. The contact information 37 associated with each of the identities 211 . . . 215 may be configured by the person designated by that identity during a provisioning phase (e.g., via a data network site operated by the service provider operating the call processing system 20).
While in this embodiment the database 36 includes certain information in connection with each of the identities 211 . . . 215, the database 36 may include various other information in other embodiments. Also, while in this example each of the identities 211 . . . 215 designates a single one of the users 121 . . . 124, in other examples, the telephone number 19 may be associated with an additional identity designating two or more of the users 121 . . . 124. For instance, in some cases, in addition to being associated with the identities 211 . . . 215, the telephone number 19 may be associated with an additional identity designating the family formed by the users 121 . . . 124.
Also, while in this example the record 200j associates the telephone number 19 (in this case, (555) 555-1234) with the group of identities 211 . . . 215, it will be appreciated that, in some embodiments, one or more of the records 2001-200M in the database 36 may include a telephony identifier 19 that is not associated with a group of identities, but that is rather generally associated with a subscriber to communication services provided by the service provider operating the call processing system 20 without defining two or more identities.
In addition, while it is depicted in
Referring now to
For example, the calling party 40 may interact with the communication device 42 to dial the telephone number (555) 555-1234, select a contact identifier from a contact function implemented by the communication device 42 to indicate his/her desire to call that telephone number, or speak a voice command indicative of his/her desire to call that telephone number. This interaction of the calling party 40 with the communication device 42 results in the communication device 42 transmitting a signal 100 over a network portion 50 of the communications network 10 (e.g., a telephone line in the PSTN, a wireless link in combination with a base station and a wireline link, a digital communications link, and/or one or more other network components (e.g., routing elements, gateways, etc.)). The signal 100, which travels to the call processing system 20, serves to place the call to the telephone number (555) 555-1234. For example, and depending on the nature of the network portion 50 and the nature of the interaction of the calling party 40 with the communication device 42, the signal 100 may convey one or more dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) tones, one or more data packets, or other information serving to place the call for the telephone number (555) 555-1234.
In the call processing system 20, the signal 100 is eventually processed by the processing element 24 (possibly after being processed by one or more other elements of the call processing system 20 such as, for instance, one or more of the routing elements 221 . . . 223). As part of this process, the processing entity 30 determines that the signal 100 originates from the communication device 42 and serves to place the call to the telephone number (555) 555-1234. More particularly, the processing entity 30 obtains, based on the signal 100, information regarding an origin of the call and information indicating that the call has been placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234. For instance, in this embodiment, the information regarding the origin of the call is indicative of a telephone number identifying the communication device 42, which, for purposes of this example, is assumed to be (555) 555-5678, and of a time at which the call was originated (e.g., a day, hour, minute, etc.).
As it carries out its call processing logic, the processing entity 30 consults the database 36 to determine whether certain actions are to be performed in respect of the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234. Thus, in this example, the processing entity 30 consults the database 36 in an attempt to find a given one of the record. 2001-200M that includes a telephony identifier 19 corresponding to the telephone number (555) 555-1234. In this case, upon finding the record 200j which corresponds to the telephone number (555) 555-1234, the processing entity 30 determines that this telephone number is associated with the group of identities 211 . . . 215.
The processing entity 30 proceeds to determine for which of the identities 211 . . . 215 the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 is intended and then causes the call to be routed accordingly, for instance, by causing the call to be directed to one or more of the communication devices 141 . . . 148. In this embodiment, the processing entity 30 determines, based on the information regarding the origin of the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234, at least one particular identity of the identities 211 . . . 215 for which the call is intended, and proceeds to cause routing of the call based on the call processing information 25 associated with the at least one particular identity of the identities 211 . . . 215.
More particularly, in this embodiment, the processing entity 30 searches the record 200j to determine whether the telephone number (555) 555-5678, from which originates the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234, is part of the contact information 37 associated with any one of the identities 211 . . . 215. Different scenarios that can arise will now be discussed.
Scenario I: Originating Telephone Number is Part of Contact Information Associated with a Single Identity
If the telephone number (555) 555-5678 is part of the contact information 37 associated with a single one of the identities 211 . . . 215, the processing entity 30 concludes that the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 is intended for that identity.
In this case, the processing entity 30 proceeds to cause the routing entity 32 to effect routing of the call based on the call processing information 25 associated with the single one of the identities 211 . . . 215. For instance, based on the call processing information 25 associated with the single one of the identities 211 . . . 215, the routing entity 32 may cause one or more of the routing elements 221 . . . 223 to send one or more signals 1101 . . . 1108 over one or more of the network portions 261 . . . 268 to route the call to one or more of the communication devices 141 . . . 148, and/or may cause the call to be routed in other ways (e.g., to a voicemail system). While the call is being routed, the routing entity 32 may cause the communication device 42 to provide a ring back tone (e.g., a standard or other audible tone or sound file) to indicate to the calling party 40 that the call is being placed.
For example, assume that (i) the single one of the identities 211 . . . 215 is the identity 212 (which is the business identity of the user 121, i.e., the father), and (ii) the call processing information 25 associated with the identity 212 indicates that any call (or any call originating from one or more predetermined telephone numbers, including the telephone number (555) 555-5678) intended for the identity 212 and originated on weekdays between 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM is to be routed to the communication device 141 (i.e., the wired POTS phone at the workplace 16 of the user 121) and that any call intended for the identity 212 at any other time is to be routed to the communication device 142 (i.e., the wireless phone of the user 121). Thus, in a case where the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 was originated at 2:30 PM on a Tuesday, the routing entity 32 causes the routing element 221 to send a signal 1101 over the network portion 261 to route the call to the communication device 141, while in a case where the call was originated at 10:30 AM on a Saturday, the routing entity 32 causes the routing element 221 to send a signal 1102 over the network portion 262 to route the call to the communication device 142.
As another example, assume that (i) the single one of the identities 211 . . . 215 is the identity 211 (which is the personal identity of the user 121, i.e., the father), and (ii) the call processing information 25 associated with the identity 211 indicates that any call intended for the identity 211 and originated on weekdays between 7:00 AM and 6:00 PM is to be routed to the communication device 142 (i.e., the wireless phone of the user 121) and that any call intended for the identity 211 at any other time is to be routed to each of the communication devices 143 and 144 (i.e., the VoIP phone and the ATA-equipped POTS phone in the kitchen and the parents-bedroom of the residence 18, respectively). Thus, in a case where the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 was originated at 1:40 PM on a Tuesday, the routing entity 32 causes the routing element 222 to send a signal 1102 over the network portion 262 to route the call to the communication device 142, while in a case where the call was originated at 8:00 PM on a Monday, the routing entity 32 causes the routing element 223 to send signals 1103 and 1104 over the network portions 263 and 264 to route the call to the communication devices 143 and 144.
As yet another example, assume that (i) the single one of the identities 211 . . . 215 is the identity 214 (which designates the user 123, i.e., the son), and (ii) the call processing information 25 associated with the identity 214 indicates that any call intended for the identity 214 is to be first routed to the communication device 145 (i.e., the VoIP phone in the son's bedroom at the residence 18) and, if not answered within a certain period of time (e.g., a certain number of rings), then routed to the communication device 147 (i.e., the wireless phone of the user 123). Thus, the routing entity 32 causes the routing element 223 to send a signal 1105 over the network portion 265 to route the call to the communication device 145 and, if the call is not answered within the certain period of time, the routing entity 32 causes the routing element 222 to send a signal 1107 over the network portion 267 to route the call to the communication device 147.
As yet another example, assume that (i) the single one of the identities 211 . . . 215 is the identity 213 (which designates the user 122, i.e., the mother), and (ii) the call processing information 25 associated with the identity 213 indicates that any call intended for the identity 213 is to be routed to each of the communication devices 143 and 144 (i.e., the VoIP phone and the ATA-equipped POTS phone in the kitchen and the parents' bedroom of the residence 18, respectively). Thus, in that case, the routing entity 32 causes the routing element 223 to send signals 1103 and 1104 over the network portions 263 and 264 to route the call to the communication devices 143 and 144.
It will be appreciated that these examples are presented for illustrative purposes only and that the routing entity 32 may cause the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 to be routed in various manners depending on the call processing information 25 associated with the single one of the identities 211 . . . 215 for which the call is determined to be intended (e.g., the routing entity 32 may cause one or more actions to be performed in relation to one or more telephony features that may be subscribed to by the person designated by that identity).
It will also be appreciated that, in cases where the routing entity 32 causes the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 to be routed to a given one of the communication devices 141 . . . 148 that is associated with two or more of the identities 211 . . . 215 (e.g., the communication device 143 or 144), the routing entity 32 may cause that given communication device to indicate which one of these identities the call is intended for. For example, the routing entity 32 may cause the given communication device to provide an audible indication (e.g., a distinctive ringtone and/or a voice announcement) and/or a visual indication (e.g., a displayed announcement, which may be combined with CLID information, and/or lighting up of a light) of which one of these identities the call is intended for.
Scenario II: Originating Telephone Number is Part of Contact Information Associated with Two or More Identities
If the telephone number (555) 555-5678 is part of the contact information 37 associated with each of two or more of the identities 211 . . . 215, the processing entity 30 concludes that the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 is intended for at least one of these two or more identities.
In some embodiments, upon concluding that the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 is intended for at least one of two or more of the identities 211 . . . 215, the processing entity 30 may cause the routing entity 32 to effect routing of the call based on the call processing information 25 associated with each of these two or more identities. For instance, based on the call processing information 25 associated with the two or more of the identities 211 . . . 215, the routing entity 32 may cause one or more of the routing elements 221 . . . 223 to send one or more signals 1101 . . . 1108 over one or more of the network portions 261 . . . 268 to route the call to one or more of the communication devices 141 . . . 148, and/or may cause the call to be routed in other ways (e.g., to a voicemail system). For example, in a case where the telephone number (555) 555-5678 is part of the contact information 37 associated with each of the identities 21, and 213, which respectively designate the user 121, (i.e., the father) and the user 122, (i.e., the mother), the routing entity 32 may cause the routing element 223 to send signals 1103 and 1104 over the network portions 263 and 264 to route the call to the communication devices 143 and 144.
Alternatively, in some embodiments, upon concluding that the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 is intended for at least one of two or more of the identities 211 . . . 215, the processing entity 30 may attempt to single out a specific one of these two or more identities as being more likely to be the identity for which the call is intended.
For example, in some embodiments, the processing entity 30 may consult a call history in an attempt to single out a specific identity for which the call is intended. The call history may be included in the record 200j, of the database 36 or in another database to which the processing entity 30 has access. In some cases, the call history may indicate which of the identities 211 . . . 215 effectively answered previous calls placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 from various origins (e.g., various origination telephone numbers). For instance, this can be achieved by indicating which of the communication devices 141 . . . 148 have been used to answer these previous calls or using other techniques to flag incoming calls as having been answered by one of the identities 211 . . . 215. Upon consulting the call history, the processing entity 30 may determine that a specific one of the two or more of the identities 211 . . . 215, which are associated with the contact information 37 that includes the telephone number (555) 555-5678, has been involved in answering most or all of the previous calls originating from that telephone number or the last call originating from that telephone number, in which case the processing entity 30 may conclude that the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 is intended for that specific identity. In other cases, the call history may indicate which of the identities 211 . . . 215 effectively placed previous calls to various destinations (e.g., various destination telephone numbers). For instance, this can be achieved by indicating which of the communication devices 141 . . . 148 have been used to place these previous calls or using other techniques to flag outgoing calls as having been placed by one of the identities 211 . . . 215. Upon consulting the call history, the processing entity 30 may determine that a specific one of the two or more of the identities 211 . . . 215, which are associated with the contact information 37 that includes the telephone number (555) 555-5678, has been involved in placing most or all of the previous calls to that telephone number or the last call placed to that telephone number, in which case the processing entity 30 may conclude that the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 is intended for that specific identity. In these cases, the processing entity 30 may cause the routing entity 32 to effect routing of the call based on the call processing information 25 associated with the specific one of the identities 211 . . . 215, in a manner similar to that described above in respect of Scenario I.
As another example, in some embodiments, the processing entity 30 may cause transmission of a signal 120 to the communication device 42 in order to invite the calling party 40 to specify which of the identities 211 . . . 215 he/she is trying to reach. For example, the signal 120 may convey a message inviting the calling party 40 to specify which of the identities 211 . . . 215 he/she is trying to reach. Depending on functionality of the communication device 42, the message may comprise a voice message and/or a displayable message prompting the calling party 40 to specify which of the identities 211 . . . 215 he/she is trying to reach. For instance, in a case where the processing entity 30 concluded that the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 is intended for at least one of the identities 21, and 213 and where the user 12, is named John and the user 122 is named Carol, the message may be “Are you trying to reach John or Carol?”, “Press 1 if you want to reach John, 2 if you want to reach Carol, or 3 if you want to reach either of them”, or any conceivable variant thereof. Alternatively, the message may be “Please specify who you are trying to reach” or any conceivable variant thereof such as to not give out the names of John and Carol. The calling party 40 may then interact with the communication device 42, for instance, by pressing on one or more buttons or otherwise manually interacting therewith and/or speaking one or more utterances in order to specify which of the identities 211 . . . 215 he/she is trying to reach, thereby causing the communication device 42 to transmit a signal 124 indicative of which of the identities 211 . . . 215 the calling party 40 is trying to reach. Upon processing the signal 124 indicative of which of the identities 211 . . . 215 the calling party 40 is trying to reach (possibly applying a speech recognition function in a case where the calling party 40 vocally specified which identity he/she is trying to reach), the processing entity 30 concludes that the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 is intended for that specified identity. In such a case, the processing entity 30 may cause the routing entity 32 to effect routing of the call based on the call processing information 25 associated with the specified one of the identities 211 . . . 215, in a manner similar to that described above in respect of Scenario I.
Scenario III: Originating Telephone Number is not Part of Contact Information Associated with any Identity
If the telephone number (555) 555-5678 is not part of the contact information 37 associated with any of the identities 211 . . . 215, the processing entity 30 concludes that the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 is intended for an undetermined one of these identities.
In some embodiments, upon concluding that the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 is intended for an undetermined one of the identities 211 . . . 215, the processing entity 30 may cause the routing entity 32 to effect routing of the call based on the call processing information 25 associated with each of these identities. For instance, based on the call processing information 25 associated with each of the identities 211 . . . 215, the routing entity 32 may cause one or more of the routing elements 221 . . . 223 to send one or more signals 1101 . . . 1108 over one or more of the network portions 261 . . . 268 to route the call to one or more of the communication devices 141 . . . 148, and/or may cause the call to be routed in other ways (e.g., to a voicemail system). For example, in some cases, the routing entity 32 may cause the routing elements 221 . . . 223 to send signals 1101 . . . 1108 over the network portions 261 . . . 268 to route the call to each of the communication devices 141 . . . 148, either simultaneously or in a particular sequence.
Alternatively, in some embodiments, upon concluding that the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 is intended for an undetermined one of the identities 211 . . . 215, the processing entity 30 may attempt to single out a specific one of these identities as being more likely to be the identity for which the call is intended.
For example, in some embodiments, the processing entity 30 may consult the call history described above in connection with Scenario II. In some cases, upon consulting the call history, the processing entity 30 may determine that a specific one of the identities 211 . . . 215 has been involved in answering most or all of the previous calls originating from the telephone number (555) 555-5678 or the last call originating from that telephone number, in which case the processing entity 30 may conclude that the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 is intended for that specific identity. In other cases, upon consulting the call history, the processing entity 30 may determine that a specific one of the identities 211 . . . 215 has been involved in placing most or all of the previous calls to the telephone number (555) 555-5678 or the last call placed to that telephone number, in which case the processing entity 30 may conclude that the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 is intended for that specific identity. In these cases, the processing entity 30 may cause the routing entity 32 to effect routing of the call based on the call processing information 25 associated with the specific one of the identities 211 . . . 215, in a manner similar to that described above in respect of Scenario I.
As another example, in some embodiments, the processing entity 30 may cause transmission of a signal 120 to the communication device 42 in order to invite the calling party 40 to specify which of the identities 211 . . . 215 he/she is trying to reach, as described above in connection with Scenario II. The calling party 40 may then interact with the communication device 42, for instance, by pressing on one or more buttons or otherwise manually interacting therewith and/or speaking one or more utterances in order to specify which of the identities 211 . . . 215 he/she is trying to reach, thereby causing the communication device 42 to transmit a signal 124 indicative of which of the identities 211 . . . 215 the calling party 40 is trying to reach. Upon processing the signal 124 indicative of which of the identities 211 . . . 215 the calling party 40 is trying to reach (possibly applying a speech recognition function in a case where the calling party 40 vocally specified which identity he/she is trying to reach), the processing entity 30 concludes that the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 is intended for that specified identity. In such a case, the processing entity 30 may cause the routing entity 32 to effect routing of the call based on the call processing information 25 associated with the specified one of the identities 211 . . . 215, in a manner similar to that described above in respect of Scenario I.
As yet another example, in some embodiments, the processing entity 30 may access a public data network such as the Internet in order to determine whether there is a relationship between any one of the identities 211 . . . 215 and the origin of the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234. More particularly, the processing entity 30 may perform a search on one or more sites (e.g., web sites) of the public data network on a basis of information regarding the origin of the call (e.g., the telephone number (555) 555-5678 identifying the communication device 42 and/or a name or other identifier of the calling party 40) and information pertaining to each of the identities 211 . . . 215 (e.g., a name of a given one of the users 121 . . . 124 designated by that identity) in order to determine whether there is a relationship between the origin of the call and any one of these identities. For example, the processing entity 30 may perform a search on one or more social networking sites (e.g., Facebook®, LinkedIn®, MySpace®) and/or one or more search engine sites (e.g., Google, Yahoo!). If, upon processing results of the search, the processing entity 30 determines that there is a relationship between the origin of the call and a given one of the identities 211 . . . 215 (e.g., a name of the calling party 40 has been found as a friend or contact in a social networking site profile of one of the users 121 . . . 124 designated by that given identity), the processing entity 30 may conclude that the call is intended for that given identity. In such a case, the processing entity 30 may cause the routing entity 32 to effect routing of the call based on the call processing information 25 associated with the given one of the identities 211 . . . 215, in a manner similar to that described above in respect of Scenario I.
While in embodiments considered above a determination as to which of the identities 211 . . . 215 the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 is intended for is effected in a particular manner, it will be appreciated that this determination may be effected in various other manners in other embodiments.
For example, and as mentioned previously, in some embodiments, in addition to being associated with the identities 211 . . . 215, the telephone number (555) 555-1234 may be associated with a sixth identity designating the family formed by the users 121 . . . 124. In these embodiments, the call processing information 25 associated with the identity designating the family formed by the users 121 . . . 124 may specify to route a call intended for the family to one or more common ones of the communication devices 141 . . . 14s (e.g. the communication device 143 located in a common area of the residence 18) and, optionally, if the call remains unanswered after a predetermined period of time (e.g., a predetermined number of rings), to route the call to a voicemail system. For instance, upon encountering Scenario III described above where the telephone number (555) 555-5678 from which originates the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 is not part of the contact information 37 associated with any of the identities 211 . . . 215, the processing entity 30 may conclude, by default, that the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 is intended for the identity designating the family formed by the users 121 . . . 124 and may proceed to cause the routing entity 32 to effect routing of the call based on the call processing information 25 associated with the identity designating the family formed by the users 121 . . . 124, thereby causing the call to be routed to one or more common ones of the communication devices 141 . . . 148 and possibly to a voicemail system.
In addition, one or more other sources of information may be consulted by the processing entity 30 in making a determination as to which of the identities 211 . . . 215 a call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 is intended for. For example, in some embodiments, the processing entity 30 may have access to one or more directories associated with one or more of the users 121 . . . 124 designated by the identities 211 . . . 215 (e.g., a corporate directory, a university directory, or another organization's directory) and may consult these one or more directories in an attempt to determine to which of the identities 211 . . . 215 a call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 is intended for. For instance, in one case, further to provisioning of the identity 212, i.e., the business identity of the user 121, the processing entity 30 may have knowledge that the user 121 works for a particular company and may have access to that company's directory. In this case, in determining to which of the identities 211 . . . 215 a given call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 is intended for, the processing entity 30 may consult the directory of the particular company and, upon finding in the directory an origination telephone number and/or a calling party's name for the given call, may determine that the given call is intended for the identity 212 and cause the given call to be routed accordingly.
Also, while in embodiments considered above the processing entity 30 can determine to which of the identities 211 . . . 215 a call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 is intended for by consulting different sources of information, including the contact information 37 associated with each of these identities, a call history of previous calls, and one or more sites of a public data network, it will be appreciated that, in other embodiments, the processing entity 30 may effect this determination by consulting only one or a different combination of these sources of information or other sources of information.
It will thus be appreciated that, in this embodiment, the telephone number (555) 555-1234 being associated with the group of identities 211 . . . 215 which designate the users 121 . . . 124 is particularly useful from various perspectives. For example, in this case, the users 121 . . . 124 and the communication devices 141 . . . 148 share a common telephone number (i.e., (555) 555-1234) and every incoming call placed to that telephone number is routed according to which of the identities 211 . . . 215 it is determined to be intended for. This benefits the users 121 . . . 124 who only need to remember and give out to their friends, colleagues and/or other acquaintances a single telephone number (i.e., (555) 555-1234) at which they can be reached. Similarly, this benefits these friends, colleagues and/or other acquaintances of the users 121 . . . 124 who only need to remember a single telephone number (i.e., (555) 555-1234) at which each of the users 121 . . . 124 can be reached. Also, by virtue of routing every incoming call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 according to which of the identities 211 . . . 215 it is determined to be intended for, undesirable situations where a given one of the users 121 . . . 124 for whom the call is n1ot intended wastes his/her time picking up the call can be avoided.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that, in some embodiments, certain functionality of a given element described herein (e.g., the processing element 24) may be implemented as pre-programmed hardware or firmware components (e.g., application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), electrically erasable programmable read-only memories (EEPROMs), etc.) or other related components. In other embodiments, a given element described herein (e.g., the processing element 24) may comprise a processor having access to a memory which stores program instructions for operation of the processor to implement functionality of that given element. The program instructions may be stored on a data storage medium that is fixed, tangible, and readable directly by the given element. The data storage medium may store data optically (e.g., an optical disk such as a CD-ROM or a DVD), magnetically (e.g., a hard disk drive, a removable diskette), electrically (e.g., semiconductor memory, floating-gate transistor memory, etc.), or in various other ways. Alternatively, the program instructions may be stored remotely but transmittable to the given element via a modem or other interface device connected to a network over a transmission medium. The transmission medium may be either a tangible medium (e.g., optical or analog communications lines) or a medium implemented using wireless techniques (e.g., microwave, infrared or other wireless transmission schemes).
Although various embodiments of the present invention have been described and illustrated, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that numerous modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope of the invention, which is defined in the appended claims.
Clark, David William, Arsenault, Jonathan Allan, Nguyen, Luan Cao Tuong, Wolf, Eric John, Archer, Nathan Gerald, Lessard, Yannick, Rogers, Danica
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